you shine brighter
by bakamonkey13
Summary: And if you have to go, well always know, that you shine brighter than anyone does. :: Cloud makes a promise to Zack. [oneshot] [SephZack  CloudZack]


HOKAY! So, let's introduce this fic.Which is probably the single most depressing and sappy thing I have EVER written. I'm not even joking here, people.

So, I've been playing FFVII lately. (Thanks to my boyfriend for loaning it to me!) And I'm just laying there, listening to Cloud babble on and on and on and on and on about "his" past. And I'm totally bored. Cause I've heard it all before and we all know it's actually Zack's past. And I'm laying there and not paying attention to Cloud unless I have to press a button. And then it pops in my head. Like, out of the blue. And it was this fic, bascially.

Okay. For this, I stabbed two of my pairings in the back - namely SephCloud and TsengZack. And I created a one-sider...which I HATE doing. I hate one-sides. They make me sooo sad. Thankfully, I did like the kinda main pairing, I guess you would call it. So that sorta made up for it. But whatever.

Basically, it's SephZack, with a bit of one-sided CloudZack. Yeah. There's your run-down. Cause I can't explain it much more without giving something away.

Do not own FFVII or anything to do with it.  
...but Seph's my baby. ::huggles him:: xD Zack, too.  
Do not own _Brighter_. That belongs to the oh so wonderful Paramore.

**♥ you shine brighter ♥**  
_a SephZack / CloudZack songfic_

_So this is how it goes  
Well I, I would have never known  
And if it ends today_

"So you wanna be a SOLDIER? What's your name?"

"...Cloud. Cloud Strife."

"I'm Zack Fair."

_Well I'll still say that you shine brighter than anyone_

We were in a yellow truck. That was our transportation to Midgar. I was still having some problems because of the Mako. But Zack...heh. Fine as always. He just sat there, jabbering on and on and on about his adventures as a SOLDIER. And I could only sit and listen in awe.

"Is it true? Were you really friends with Sephiroth?" I asked. He sat there for a moment, staring out at the scenary as we passed through it. I was about to ask again when he nodded.

"Yeah...if you wanna say friend, of course. More like..." he paused again, and his violet eyes seemed to sparkle with something I couldn't quite read. Then, he looked at me - his vibrant and loud self once again. "More like war buddies, really."

"Then why -"

"Why did he try to kill me?" he stopped and sighed, running a hand through his messy black hair. "That's part of one really long story, bud."

"I wouldn't mind hearing. We've got time."

"All right. Well, it all started when I first joined SOLDIER..."

Once again, I was caught in awe of him. Zack Fair. 1st Class SOLDIER. Beautiful and vibrant. Full of life and joy. To say I liked him was an understatement.

_Now I think we're taking this too far  
Don't you know it's not this hard?  
Well it's not this hard  
But if you take what's yours and I take mine  
Must we go there?  
Please not this time, no, not this time_

"This is our stop, man." Zack said, pulling me up. Sure enough, we could see the vauge outline of Midgar up ahead. He let me jump off the truck first, him right behind me. I went to stand and fell straight back down. Zack chuckled and I blushed. "You're still having reactions to the Mako. Nothing to be embarassed about."

He knealt down and grabbed my arm, putting it around his shoulders. He lifted me up and grinned. I gave a weak smile in return.

"Hey. Perk up. We made it."

_Well this is not your fault_

"Seph's not dead, you know." Zack said as we continued closer to Midgar. I blinked at him in suprise.

"But all the papers and news -"

"ShinRa controls it. You can't always believe what they say." he explained, turning his head slightly to look at me. I couldn't help but to flush slightly. "He's not dead. There's no way I could've killed him. Nah, he's alive, and - hey! Look! Midgar!"

Zack led us over to the edge of a cliff. Midgar was right there. Above the ground in all its splendor, the towering ShinRa building in the center. He gently sat me down.

"I'm gonna go find the best way down there. Be right back."

_But if I'm without you  
Then I will feel so small_

I was sitting there, staring over at Midgar. Then, the sound of gunfire reached my ears. I turned to see what it was.

"SHIT!" I exclaimed, hurriedly getting to my feet - with much difficulty at that. They'd found us. We were gonna shit. Holdy shit...

"Cloud! Run!"

I turned again. Zack was running towards me from the opposite direction, pulling his Buster Blade from its sheath. He jumped in front of me just as our pursuers fired their weapons. A hail of bullets zoomed at us. One hit my leg and I went down. That hurt. I looked up to see Zack fighting some of them off. Then, more gunfire. And Zack fell with a thud.

_And if you have to go_

"Zack!" I yelled. He turned his head to look at me, a weak smile on his face.

"Hey, man. Come over here a minute."

"The bullet in my leg made it hard to stand. I crawled over to him and sat beside him. No. Not Zack. Please not Zack.

"Hey, Cloud. No crying, tough guy." he said with a bit of a weak laugh. However, the laugh turned into a rough cough. I shook my head.

"Shush. It's okay. I can heal you." I said, moving to cast a Cure3 spell. Zack grabbed my wrist and shook his head.

"No. Save it for you." he said. I blinked quickly, tears starting to fall from my eyes. I gently grasped his head and placed it in my lap, my fingers gliding through his hair. He smiled. "Heh. That feels nice."

I gave a sort of strangled chuckle and he smiled more, but he broke into coughs. After he'd stopped, he blinked and looked up at me.

"Listen, Cloud. I need you to -" he gasped and coughed for a moment, "I need you do something for me. All right?"

"Anything."

_Well always know_

He closed his eyes and took a few deep and shakey breaths. When his eyes opened, I could see tears staining them. I bit my lip and waited for his request.

"If you ever see - if you ever see Seph...tell him that I...tell him that..." he was having more and more trouble breathing. And I was crying more the worse he got. "Tell him I'm waiting for him...and that I...that I - l-love him...even after e-everything...he did..."

In that mere second, my heart burst into a million pieces. But I only nodded and smiled.

"I will. I promise."

He smiled. "Thanks, man. Take care..."

His eyes slid closed. His head went limp against my leg. His chest stopped moving from breath. But his leps stayed in their smile. And I broke down in sobs, kneeling over and burying my face into the fabric of his uniform.

_That you shine brighter than anyone does_

"Zack had a message for me?"

"How did you know?"

Sephiroth chuckled lowly. "Seemed like something he would do."

I stood there for a moment, my hand still holding my Buster Blade tightly.

"Did you love him?" I asked, my eyes cutting holes into him. Sephiroth nodded.

"Of course I did. But after what I did -"

"He loved you anyway..." I muttered, looking down. "That was the message: Tell him I'm waiting for him and that I love him even after everything he did. That was his message to you."

"I'll not keep him waiting then." Sephiroth said, turning towards me. "Come on. Kill me. I...I want to be with Zack again."

_I'll wave goodbye tonight_

Sephiroth was gone. The Planet was saved. All was right.

Zack's grave was the same as always when I arrived at it.

"I did what you asked...I told him."

And, as if the voice of an angel had come to me, I heard him laugh.

"Thanks, man.

_Watching you shine bright_

**♥ le end ♥**

::sniffs:: Said it was depressing.

Yeeaaahhhh. Hey, when I started this, it was Umber's birthday. So, HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY, UMBER! xD What was that...about 10 days ago? lol.

Well, maybe next time I write for Zack...it'll be less depressing. And he'll be paired with TSENG! YAY!

So, read & review. Kthxbai!


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